


Of Tears and Motivation

by TheIntelligentHufflepuff



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kind of motherly Natasha, One-Shot, post-AoU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 20:06:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4405688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIntelligentHufflepuff/pseuds/TheIntelligentHufflepuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wanda's crying so Natasha tries to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Tears and Motivation

**Author's Note:**

> This might be a little bit OOC, so sorry about that- it's been a while since I watched the film.

The Avengers base was silent as the grave, save for a muffled hiccuping that Natasha knew signified only one thing. Yawning, the assassin rolled out of bed, slid her feet in to the well-worn slippers she kept on the floor and padded out of her room. 

That night wasn't the first to be accented by the sound of tears; in fact, Natasha's sleep had been interrupted frequently since the assembly of the New Avengers. She was usually one to leave people to their own devices when dealing with pain, but that night she came to the conclusion that her tactic wasn't working. 

The grey corridors were lit with dim LEDs during the dark hours of the day, so Natasha had no problem locating the source of the disturbance: one Wanda Maximoff, curled up in one of the square alcoves set in to the wall. 

"You know, there are more comfortable places to cry." Natasha pointed out softly as she approached, not wanting to startle the girl. 

Wanda made a kind of whimpering sound which Natasha thought might have been an attempt at a laugh. 

"You mind if I sit?" 

Scarlet Witch shook her head, sniffing as she spun around to make room for Natasha. In such close quarters it was easy to see that Wanda's eyes were bloodshot and hung with deep bags, skin beaded with diamond tears. The sight was all too familiar. 

"What's up?" Natasha prompted softly.

"Nothing." Wanda replied croakily, avoiding the older woman's gaze "It's nothing." 

Deliberately, Natasha set a hand on Wanda's shoulder. She collapsed under the touch, sobs wracking her young body. Natasha bit her lip, then began to run a hand through Wanda's soft hair. She wondered, not for the first time, if the more unusual of the Twins had dyed her previously dark hair in remembrance of her lost brother. 

"I'm sorry." Wanda mumbled, burying her face in her hands. 

"Nothing to be sorry about." Natasha admonished her. God knows it took her some time to realise that- still hadn't, really. 

"Pietro." Wanda said, the name like a confession. 

Natasha nodded, her suspicions confirmed. 

"It hurts. I know. But you're strong, you'll survive."

"He...he did not...deserve it." Wanda hiccuped, the flood of tears pouring out of her eyes dwindling to a trickle. 

Natasha pursed her lips, unsure of what to say. It was true. Pietro didn't deserve it, and she wasn't glad he had died- she had felt pain at his passing- but...To Natasha that was just another regrettable casualty, another dead comrade whose picture she would hang in her mental wall. To Wanda it was her best friend, gone. 

The assassin tried to imagine if it was Clint or Steve- even Sam or Maria- that had died, tried to picture someone comforting her. 

"No, he didn't. But he was a good man, a noble man and..." 

"Don't!" Wanda snapped, a sudden fire igniting in her eyes "Don't tell me that he would be happy or that he would want me to move on." 

"I wasn't going to." Natasha rebuked, unfazed "What I was going to say was that you should use his death. Don't let the grief disable you. Let it motivate you, let Pietro's sacrifice be the code that you work by." 

"You are saying that I should get my revenge?" Wanda asked scornfully. 

"No." Natasha shook her head, thinking that maybe this wasn't such an amazing idea after all "You shouldn't loose your head. You're part of a team now. Let your pain fuel you, from the back of your mind." 

Wanda swiped a finger across her eye, catching a stray drop of saltwater, then tilted her head to the side questioningly "That is your survival tactic, isn't it?" 

Natasha blinked. It wasn't often that her teammates were so perceptive, although on second thoughts she had practically given Wanda a step by step guide to her mentality. 

"Well," she finally replied "You do what you've gotta do." 

Wanda began to nod pensively, but stopped halfway to yawn loudly. Natasha snorted. 

"Time for bed, I think. Come on, we've got weapons training at 7. Today."


End file.
